Ranking of Steels in Categories based on Edge Retention cutting 5/8" rope

Iam the type of person that believes what he reads ............whether true or not.
I dont know that much about steels , thats why I monitor this thread.
If folks say its good then I tend to believe it until proven otherwise ......... thats why I have so many knives .....LOL
Ive learned so much from this thread alone ......... I feels steels are only as good as there heat treat.
I want to again say thank you for this thread. Actually the forum in general too.
 
Kai Corp. said:
Perhaps, but the negativity went well beyond the steel or the manufacturers. Crucible themselves were accused of being marketeers and a hype machine, sacrificing all for the almighty dollar. It was a most pitiful and deliberate display. Yet some members gobbled it up like it was movie popcorn, and the negative label was spawned.

Unfortunately there are other platforms for most to spew their similar advocacy. One's that they can't be called out on.

Sorry for the drift.

Performance for the win....Better late than never. :thumbup:
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Many of the early S30V knives had significant chipping problems, so it's understandable that customers were miffed. The problem wasn't so much with the steels as with the manufacturers who hadn't learned how to heat treat it properly. S30V is a good steel, but even today I see a more variability in this steel's performance than any other.
 
Kai Corp. said:
Perhaps, but the negativity went well beyond the steel or the manufacturers. Crucible themselves were accused of being marketeers and a hype machine, sacrificing all for the almighty dollar. It was a most pitiful and deliberate display. Yet some members gobbled it up like it was movie popcorn, and the negative label was spawned.

Unfortunately there are other platforms for most to spew their similar advocacy. One's that they can't be called out on.

Sorry for the drift.

Performance for the win....Better late than never. :thumbup:
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No problem, you're right on all points again. I am constantly disappointed at how fast, how permanent, and how damaging thought-less - and sometimes fictional - negative posts - can be, and as you say, they live forever.
 
Kai Corp. said:
Hey Jim, remember when S30V got crucified on this forum by a handful of members. It was all hype, would chip easily, difficult HT, too hard, too soft, needed multiple sharpenings...The negative threads were plentiful.

Seems it turned out ok huh, even the "advocates" have all quieted down...

As you said in another thread, legends and I'll add labels die hard around here.

At least S30V has shed it's long standing negative forum reputation. Performance for the win..
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Yes I remember that all too well. LOL

Yep it's has, it's really a great steel, always was really. :)

Get EDC steel IMO, the reason why I carry it more than anything else. :thumbup:

I try to be a realist and a steel guy at the same time, it's a hard balance I think sometimes.
 
black mamba said:
Not knowing how costs enter into the equation, I'm surprised that the S35VN hasn't supplanted the earlier S30V. It seems to have better edge holding and more toughness at an equal hardness over the S30V. At a full point softer in Ankerson's tests (59 to 60) it is in the same catagory, and at only a 1/2 point harder it is two categories ahead of S30V at 58.5.
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My Military in S30V chipped just last week while sharpening speaking of the devil, and the tap on the sharpmaker rod that caused it was much softer than you'd expect. I still carry it more than about anything else (several knives in S30V), but I would much rather carry S35VN. I have't had chipping with them yet (I think that makers have a better handle now on how to heat treat it), even though people accused it of chipping easily at one time. In real world use, I find S35VN to be a superb overall steel, and I prefer the added toughness over S30V . I think that people are more skeptical and tend to be more informed about a steel shortly after it comes out; they know about every test, every break, every problem. The learning curve means more knives that are too hard or too soft are put out in the beginning, but after they get it figured out the benefits start to outshine the flaws, and as thousands of knives with S30V started coming onto the market, personal experience started replacing reports that were cited from YouTube testing in discussions.

I'm disappointed in KAI's representation here. Every time I see them comment on the forum recently the posts villify someone or something. The difference between "advocates" and you is that you're representing a manufacturer of the highest order, and should rise above such things. I'm glad people question things and test things myself, it eventually separates the best from the rest. Sorry for the drift.
 
A Justice said:
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The difference between "advocates" and you is that you're representing a manufacturer of the highest order, and should rise above such things.
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I was just telling an old once upon a time S30V story, one that a couple folks confirmed. Sorry if that is disappointing to you. It was/is the truth.

I'll back out again, as it seems that is best.

Out...
 
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ricklee4570 said:
K390 looks to be the big dog in this test so far. How does it do as far as corrosion resistance?
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In my use in the kitchen, it hasn't taken anything more than the basic patina. I first got one cutting bananas in the summer, and it hasn't grown or added anything to it since then. So in my experiences, it is unlike other carbon steels like Super Blue and Opinel's CS, where the patina will change as you cut more things. The one thing to watch out for though, if you have the Spyderco Mule, is to take down the handles every now and then to make sure you haven't gotten any rust underneath the handles.
 
Invective said:
In my use in the kitchen, it hasn't taken anything more than the basic patina. I first got one cutting bananas in the summer, and it hasn't grown or added anything to it since then. So in my experiences, it is unlike other carbon steels like Super Blue and Opinel's CS, where the patina will change as you cut more things. The one thing to watch out for though, if you have the Spyderco Mule, is to take down the handles every now and then to make sure you haven't gotten any rust underneath the handles.
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Great advice. I forced a patina on mine, slapped some handle scales on it and didn't think much of it. When my Halpern scales came in before my S110V Mule I took the G10 scales off the K390 to try out the new ones and had quite a few rust spots. I cleaned it up and wiped it with Tuff Cloth. My plan is to periodically disassemble it and wipe it down with the Tuff Cloth. The exposed blade was fine, but moisture can obviously get trapped between the scales and the handle steel and cause problems.
 
A couple coats of clear paste wax underneath the handles would be a good preventive against rust.
 
Invective said:
In my use in the kitchen, it hasn't taken anything more than the basic patina. I first got one cutting bananas in the summer, and it hasn't grown or added anything to it since then. So in my experiences, it is unlike other carbon steels like Super Blue and Opinel's CS, where the patina will change as you cut more things. The one thing to watch out for though, if you have the Spyderco Mule, is to take down the handles every now and then to make sure you haven't gotten any rust underneath the handles.
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This is an excellent point, and something to watch on stick tangs especially if they have large bolster gaps. I prefer to take the knife apart and re-assemble with a very generous application of epoxy on all interior surfaces. It's a permanent fix, but you'd better be sure that you like those handles as well....
 
sodak said:
This is an excellent point, and something to watch on stick tangs especially if they have large bolster gaps. I prefer to take the knife apart and re-assemble with a very generous application of epoxy on all interior surfaces. It's a permanent fix, but you'd better be sure that you like those handles as well....
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I wonder if a simple urethane would work.
 
Good point about periodically checking under the handles. Especially if you run a lot of water over the knife to clean it up.
 
bluesmandan said:
I wonder if a simple urethane would work.
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Not as well as epoxy. Epoxy cures by chemical action, not evaporation. Urethane has some chemical diluent/solvent in it, as this evaporates it leaves a microporous surface. This is why eventually even painted surfaces rust. Some moisture or chemicals eventually get in there. Even if it is a very tiny amount.
 
Ankerson said:
Yes I remember that all too well. LOL

Yep it's has, it's really a great steel, always was really. :)

Get EDC steel IMO, the reason why I carry it more than anything else. :thumbup:

I try to be a realist and a steel guy at the same time, it's a hard balance I think sometimes.
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This thread has definetly cost me the most money as I feel the need to have at least one specimen of each steel mentioned.
...I have a loooooooong way to go ;)

Any thoughts on S30V or S35VN Being used on fixed blades?
 
WorkingEdge said:
This thread has definetly cost me the most money as I feel the need to have at least one specimen of each steel mentioned.
...I have a loooooooong way to go ;)

Any thoughts on S30V or S35VN Being used on fixed blades?
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Well Strider has been using S30V for a very long time in their fixed blades with great success. :)
 
Jim, you have the S30V listed in two categories, five and seven, due to differing rockwells. My question is -- which of those two belong to the Spyderco steel?
 
Indiana Joe said:
Jim, you have the S30V listed in two categories, five and seven, due to differing rockwells. My question is -- which of those two belong to the Spyderco steel?
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Both are, one is a newer satin blade Military (60) and the other is an older coated blade Military (58.5)..
 
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